Atronic Has Tonic for False Alarm Ills

How serious is Atronic Alarms about eliminating false alarms and police dispatches? Serious enough to augment its customer service operations with a Quality Assurance Department (QAD) whose primary mission is reducing the possibility any Atronic-installed system generates a false alarm.

Atronic Alarms has found the care, communication and follow-up it devotes to its customers greatly reduces difficulty and confusion and makes for a very friendly security environment. Beyond the upfront sales literature Atronic hands out to all clients, its outreach includes a quarterly newsletter (Wired) mailed along with all monitoring invoices.

The newsletter includes false alarm reduction tips each issue, as well as updates on ordinance changes. It also continually reminds clients to update their call lists and to notify Atronic if vacationing, if there have been any lifestyle changes or if thinking about remodeling. The newsletter reminds clients to have their system checked and tested once a year, clean out their smoke detectors, and provides them with new product information.

Along with the newsletter, monthly inserts may be included with monitoring invoices reminding clients of certain ordinance alterations or to update their call lists. The company’s Web site also provides customers with false alarm tips and a host of information and services.

Earning the Trust of Police

Fostering and building a strong collaborative relationship with responding law enforcement is one of the tenets of the PDQ program. It is also core to the operations of Atronic Alarms and a key ingredient to the company’s great success in managing false alarms - even if it may not be something to which some agencies are accustomed.

“The biggest challenge is having all alarm companies categorized with the same stigma. The challenge is to show law enforcement agencies we are not all the same,” says Atha. “Companies like us take great pride in the products and services we offer and do not wish to make law enforcement jobs any harder than they already are.”

Atronic’s Mathews and Central Station Liaison Chrissy Wyble - who works directly with Alarm Central to set up each account and verifies phone numbers with each client - are continually in contact with alarm coordinators in all ordinances to resolve any issues that may arise.

In fact, Atronic has even had its employees teach police-sponsored false alarm training classes and offers clients a monitoring discount for attending. The company urges new clients to attend the course as a preventative measure. Attendance is mandatory for those who exceed a certain number of false alarms. Such efforts have really impressed local authorities.

“While Atronic has implemented the accepted national standards, I find that their biggest asset is their personnel,” says Jim Cogswell, special services officer with the Leawood (Kan.) Police Department. “From the office staff to the installers and technicians, they exhibit an understanding of how to provide quality security systems and to work with local public safety agencies in identifying problem users and fixing the problem.”

Besides working closely with law enforcement, Atronic’s Harrison is a board member of the local chapter of Crime Stoppers. His active involvement in the organization keeps Atronic at the forefront of Kansas City crime statistics and in continual communication with police departments citywide.

PDQ Promotes Atronic, Industry

Having earned the admiration and respect of clients, police and rival alarm companies, Atronic Alarms ended years of coming up just short in the competition before finally capturing the glory of the PDQ Award. It is an honor those in the company do not take lightly.

“It says to our employees, ‘Yes, it really does matter, and what you do is important,’” says Mathews. “This type of award program is crucial to recognizing and motivating the alarm industry in the part we need to play to resolve the false alarm issues. It also reinforces the concept of partnering with law enforcement in our communities to provide a safe environment for our clients, their citizens, so we can all succeed at our jobs.”

Atronic Alarms has indisputably set the bar extraordinarily high as a proactive, responsive, conscientious company driven to achieve exceptional results - for all the right reasons. Hopefully this deserved recognition will prove inspirational to other security providers as the industry continues its quest as a valued law enforcement partner in the best interests of public safety.

“PDQ winners are viewed as heroes to the law enforcement community because they truly go above and beyond in their efforts to be good corporate partners,” says Beaubien. “If even one other company institutes a false alarm reduction program because of what they see PDQ winners doing, then it has been a great success and reflects well on the alarm industry as a whole.”

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About the Author

Scott Goldfine
Scott Goldfine is Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher of Security Sales & Integration, directing all editorial aspects of the magazine brand in print, electronically, online and in person. The voluminous, innovative and award-winning body of work he has distinguished himself with since joining the publication in 1998 includes groundbreaking research, landmark features, leadership roundtables, high profile case studies, and many industry exclusives. Well versed in the technical and business aspects of electronic security (video surveillance, access control, systems integration, intrusion detection, fire/life safety), Goldfine is a nationally known figure in demand as an industry presenter and subject matter expert to mainstream media. He is responsible for developing many unique products and programs, including the SSI Industry Hall of Fame, Control Panel (industry’s first E-mail newsletter), Police Dispatch Quality (PDQ), Marketing Marvel, Installers of the Year, Integrated Installation of the Year, Security Industry Census, Systems Integration Study, Installation Business Report, Operations & Opportunities Report, Commercial End-User Study and Security’s Fantastic Fleets.
Recognized for his relationship building, integrity and lead-by-example ethic, Goldfine is a solutions-oriented team player who advises and collaborates with industry dealer/integrator, consultant, distributor, central station and manufacturer icons, luminaries and executive business leaders on a daily basis. He is also actively involved in several security events and organizations, including the Electronic Security Association (ESA), Security Industry Association (SIA), Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC), False Alarm Reduction Association (FARA), PSA-Tec, SAMMY Awards, International Security Conference and Exhibition (ISC), Electronic Security Technology Summit (ESTS), Mission 500, Electronic Security Expo (ESX), ASIS Int’l, Honeywell CONNECT and other supplier conventions. Goldfine also serves on several boards, including the CSAA Marketing and Communications Committee and PSA Cybersecurity Advisory Council.
A certified alarm technician, former cable-TV tech, audio company entrepreneur, and lifelong electronics and computers enthusiast, Goldfine graduated with honors from Cal State, Northridge with a management degree in Radio-Television-Film. His professional media endeavors have encompassed magazines, Internet, radio, TV, film, records, teletext and books. Goldfine resides in the Charlotte, N.C., area with his wife, son and three cats.
Contact Scott Goldfine: sgoldfine@ehpub.com